Many passenger seats such as those on passenger aircraft, buses, trains, and the like account for significant weight of the vehicle but must meet other requirements related to passenger comfort, safety, and convenience. For example, seat structural assemblies are designed to meet specific loading conditions (e.g., crash conditions), and seats often include safety and convenience features (which may be moveable or deployable) including, for example, seat belts, arm rests, tray tables, cocktail tables, and the like. The structural design of conventional seats along with the design of the comfort and convenience features may include inefficiencies that lead to extra undesirable weight.
In certain situations, it may be desirable to design seats and related subcomponents to maximize structural efficiency with load paths configured to transfer load from the passenger through the seat and into the structure of the aircraft. Efficient structural design facilitates lighter designs using less material.